After celebrating National Aboriginal Day last week, we are pleased to announce that our Green Hero and member of the Poplar River First Nation Sophia Rabliauskas will be on our “Back to Nature” episode airing Tuesday, June 25th at 7:30pm on TVO. This episode explores the relatively new phenomena “Nature Deficit Disorder”, a term that refers to the growing trend that children (and adults) are spending less time outdoors, resulting in a range of disorders. Sophia has been a leader in protecting the traditional territory of her people and she was even been awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2007.

Sophia is also in good company during this episode with Canadian artist Robert Bateman, comedian Shaun Majumder, and 12-year-old Sliammon First Nation YouTube sensation Ta’Kaiya Blaney, discussing their impact on the environment and how they got back to nature to save our planet. You can also view Ta’Kaiya’s webisode online here to learn more about her inspiring story.

Joining the great list of Heroes on this episode is writer Graeme Gibson, author/journalist Andrew Nikiforuk, and artist Ed Burtynsky, discussing the importance of creating sustainable environments in nature. Ed will also be featured in our “The Art of Change” episode airing next week.

You can learn more about Sophia and all the other great Heroes on “Back to Nature”, airing Tuesday June 25th at 7:30pm, Thursday June 27th at 7pm, and Sunday June 30th at 8:30pm on TVO.

During the episode, play along with our Green Heroes Academy app that will quiz you on our Heroes, watch cool videos, complete fun games and missions, and become a Green Hero too!